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ANNIVERSAEY 



ADDEESS AND ORATION 



13: TTiD s o nsr, kt. "s^. 



July 4th, 1862. 



ADDRESS 



LIEUT. J. VAN NESS rfllLTP, IT. S. N., 

President of the Day, 



ORATION 



Hon. GEORGE VAN SANTVOORD, 

OF TROY. 
DELIVERE© ON THE ANNIVERSARY OP OUR NATIONAL IS'DEPENDENCE, 

AT HUDSON, N. Y. 

Jvlr 4th, 1863. 



PUBLISHED AT THK SOLICITATION OP THE GENERAL COMMITTEE. 



HUDSON: 

PRINTED BY M. P. WILLIAMS, GAZETTE OFFICE, 

1862» 



GENERAL COMMITTEE. 



Richard F. Clark, 

ClIARLKS C. HUBBEL, 

Richard Kidxey, 
David E. Kexdrick, 
P^DWiN C. Terry, 
Ebenezer H. Gifford,- 
IIorace R. Peck, 
Wm. a. Carpenter, 
joiix c. dormandy, 
"VVii. Parmenter, 
Wm. Bry'ax, 
David A. Raixey, 
Charles C. Malcher, 
Frederick JesSup. 



Wii. H. VAX Vleck, 
Edward A. Roraback, 
M. P. Williams, 
JOHX S. Axable, 
Edward L. Gaul, 
Lucius Moore, 
Corxelius Bortle, 
E. De Cost McKay, 
Edward J. Hodge, 
Hiram D. Gage, 
John' B. Longley, 
Charles Kahl, 
George L. Little, 



SHERMAN VAN NESS, Chairman. 



M-vy 



C O K R E S P O N I) E N K. 



THE COMMITTEE TO MR, VAN SANTVOOKD. 

Hudson, July 8th, 18G2. 

Hon. Geo. Van Santvoord : 

Dear Sir — At a meeting of tlie General Committee appointed for 
the purpose of celebrating the late National Anniversary, held at the 
City Hall July Vth, 1862, the following Resolution was unanimously 
adopted : 

"Eesolved, That the thanks of this Committoo bo tendered to the Hon. GEORGE 
VAN SANTVOORD, of Troj-, N. Y., for the eloquent, interesting, and patriotic 
Oration dehvered in this city on the 4th inst., and that a copy be requested for 
pubhcation." 

The undersigned, a Committee appointed to carry the foregoing 
Eesolution into effect, would respectfully request your compliance with 

SHERMAN VAN NP:SS, ) 

JOHN B. LONGLEY, [• Commitlee. 

EDWARD L. GAUL, ) 



MR. VAN SANTVOORD'S REPLY. 

Troy, July 9th, 18C3. 

Gentlemen : — 

I cheerfully comply with the request of your General Committee, and 
place at their disposal the Oration delivered by me on the 4th inst., 
in your city. I beg you to return to the Committee my sincere 
acknowledgment for the compliment contained in the Eesolution you 
have transmitted to me. Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

G. VAN SANTVOORD. 
Messrs. Sherman Van Ness, John B. Lonqley, Edward L. Gaul, Esqe. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



THE COMAUTTEE TO LIEUT. PHILIP. 

Hudson, July 8th, 1862. 

At a meeting of tlio General Committee appointed for the purpose of 
eolebrating the Eighty-sixth Anniversary of our National Independence, 
the following resolution was unanimously adopted : 

'■^Resolved, That this Committee are under great obhgatlons to Lieut. J. VAN 
NESS PHILIP, U. S. N., for the able manner in which he discharged his duties 
cas the President of the day, and for the appropriate and elegant Address with 
which he opened the exercises at the Hall ; and that a copy of the Address be 
requested for publication in pamphlet form." 

On behalf of the Committee, wo would respectfully ask you to furnish 

us a copy of the same. 

SHERMAN VAN NESS, ) 

.K^HN B. LONGLEY, \ Committee. 

EDWARD L. GAUL, ) 



lieut. philip's keply. 

Boston Navy Yard, \ 
July 11th, 1802. f 
Gentlemen : — 

Permit me through you, to thank the General Committee for their 
kind and flattering notice of my Address, on the Fourth. It was hur- 
riedly written, but such as it is it is entirely at your disposal. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. V. N. PHILIP. 
To Messrs. Shekman Van Ness, John B. Longley, Edward L. Gaul, Com. 



ADDRESS. 



I THAXK yon, my friends, for this very kind and most cordial recep- 
tion. I liave not the vanity to appropriate it to myself personally, bnt 
consider it as a mark of yonr approbation of my conrse, and an indica- 
tion of the sentiments with which you regard the holy cause in which 
we are engaged ; and before introducing to you the Orator of the Day, 
permit me to congratulate you upon the return of the Anniversary most 
cherished in every American heart ; and now, while clouds are lowering 
around our beloved land, is doubly hallowed from its patriotic associa- 
tions with the past, and cheering aspirations of hope for the future. It is 
proper that it should always be commemorated. In days that are past 
and gone, it was right for the whole land to rejoice at this great National 
Festival, this precious remembrance of the work of our fathers, when they 
resolved to cast off every vestige of the institutions of the old world, 
and establish a form of Government which should inspire joy and hope 
among all the nations of the earth, an asylum for the oppressed, and where 
man should rise to the full enjoyment of those inalienable rights and priv- 
ileges which his Maker had conferred upon him. It was emphatically 
to become a " land of the free and the home of the brave." It startled 
the old world from its slumbers, and it was baptized with blood. Our 
fathers were cast down but not destroyed. They were carried safely 
through by His protecting hand " who governs the universe and all 
things therein ;" and the result was a form of Government universally 
conceded to be the best ever devised by human wisdom. A Government 
humane and most beneficent in all its tendencies ; a Government of 
which we had scarcely a practical realization, except in its kind and pro- 
tecting care; a Government blessed with the tears and prayers of millions 
beyond the borders of its own happy influence — the hope of mankind 
— the rising star of freedom to cheer and illumine the oppressed of all 
the earth. What blessings, what hopes were clustered around it ! Our 
fathers left us this priceless inheritance as the crowning work of all 
their trials and perils in the mighty war which ended in our Indepen- 
dence, and which animated and strengthened the hopes of human 
liberty in all the world. As long as they were spared, that work under 
their superintending vigilance and patriotic wisdom was preserved in 
its perfect integrity. No false local ambition was sufl"cred to mar it ; 
no unfounded heretical doctrine of State rights was permitted to over- 



8 



turn it ; no vandal hand dared to strike at it ; no traitorous breath 
ventured even to breathe its destruction. They died in the belief that 
this priceless legacy would be valued by us as tliey had valued it, and 
be forever transmitted in its entirety as complete and as absolute as 
they had left it. It is, my friends, against such a Government, that 
treason has reared its overbearing crest, and traitors have raised their 
sacrilegious hands. Twenty years of conspiracy by ambitious dema- 
gogues culiTtiuated at last in the most diabolical rebellion ever recorded 
in the annals of the world ; but our parental Government was lenient 
and conciliatory, endeavoring by every peaceful means to lead back its 
erring children to the paths of virtue and of honor. Statesmen 
compromised, christians prayed, but foul treason in all its hellish ma- 
lignity was fast undermining the foundations of this great hope of the 
world. Treason filled the Cabinet and the forum with its vile, pestifer- 
ous council ; treason was rampant in the land, and loyalty was hiding its 
diminished head. Through what dark hours we passed, my friends, 
you can well remember. But what a reckoning was there slumbering 
in the great silent heart of the nation. The first gun at Surntcr sent 
its reverberating echo of thunder throughout the length and breadth of 
this great Republic. Was there ever such a spectacle ? Was there 
ever such an uprising of a free people with one universal and invincible 
determination to rush upon treason like an avalanche ? From every 
toAVn, every village, every hamlet in the land, from every mountain top 
and every valley, came forth one cry of execration at the work about 
to be perpetrated by traitors, who in their demoniac revels were gloat- 
inor over the prospective ruins of the Republic ; and then the quiet gii'ding 
on of the armor for the contest. Our first trifling reverses only 
stimulated the sublime emotions of patriotism and of loyalty, and 
when the banner of our glorious destiny unfurled to the breeze as the 
emblem of advanced civilization and free institutions, upheld by thou- 
sands Upon thousands of stout hearts and strong arras, and blessed 
with the tears and prayers of millions of aching, but hoping and 
trustful hearts, was borne upon the strongholds of treason, what could 
stay its onward progress? Animated by but one impulse, every heart 
beat in unison with the inspiration of that sentiment, planted so deep 
in the American character, so vital to our fame, our duty, our power, 
and our freedom : " Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and in- 
separable." 

The record of the past year tells its own story — a story of desolate 
liomes and aching hearts — but a story of glorious victory and imper- 
ishable renown — a story of the onward march of armed men with 



9 



victorious banners, and of naval sueeesses unparalleled in the histor}' of 
the world, the recovery of entire States from the thraldom of treason, 
and the opening, with the cleaving sword, of the great Father of Waters. 
Who does not feel proud of his country to-day ? While the Govern- 
ments of the ohl world prophesied our ruin, disasters to our arms, and 
financial embarrassments, we stand to-day confessedly supreme in the 
immensity of our resources. 

How the predictions of the great and good men of the past have 
been verified, and what solemn warnings were given to us by those 
famous patriots now so long buried in the tomb, who, so deeply 
imbued with all the knowledge that makes the accom[»lislied Statesman, 
had converted our glorious Constitution almost into a part of their 
daily natures, from a daily application of it in the promotion of their 
country's welfare, and the perpetuation of this noble form of Govern- 
ment which the}' had done so much to establish. Who does not re- 
member jSIr. Webster's [»atrii)tie outburst in the Senate, in 1850, when 
the subject of peaceable secession was introduced? lie said "lie who 
sees these States, now revolving in harmonv around a common centre, 
and expects to see them ijuit thi'ir })]ai:!cs and tly ott" without convulsion, 
may look the next hour to see the heavenly bodies rush from their 
spheres and jostle against each otlier in the realms of space, without 
producing the crush of the univei'sc." 

This Union was intended to be perpetual. Our Constitution was 
ratified by the people of the United States for all time. Geogra})hically 
we are one : Our mighty mountains ranging for miles through contig- 
uous States ; our noble bays, rivers and lakes only to be })rosperously 
enjoyed under a common Government ; our difterences of climate, soil 
and productions, each best for itself, and all vital to the whole ; the 
necessity of a power adequate to the protection of us all — all demon- 
strate that God and nature intended us to be one. An ine\dtablc 
destiny has planted us upon the ])latform of the old Hero of New 
Orleans. AVonld that his immortal sentiment were emblazoned on 
every banner that floats from mast-head and flag-staff throughout the 
land— would it were engraved in letters of living fire upon every pa- 
triotic heart : " The Union, it wust cmd sliall he preservcdy 

And yet, to attain a consummation so devoutly to be wished for, wo 
must not shut our e3'es to the endjarrassments of our position. We 
must not forget that a great work is yet to be accomplished ; not only 
in the field, by strong arms and stout hearts, but in the forum, by 
prudent, conservative statesmanship, and hearts animated with enlarged 
patriotism and a christian spirit. In the name of one common humanity, 



10 

let me implore my conntiTincn not to prostitute tins great uprising of 
:i free peo])lc to the advancement of the interests of any political party, 
or any extreme views. AVoukl to God my voice could be heard through 
the length and breadth of this land. Never permit this glorious contest 
to be carried on in a spirit of revenge or retaliation. Our cause is pure 
and holy, and it would degrade it to imitate the malignity which has 
infused itself into the councils of rebellion. Let us at least do our duty, 
and remember that He who came down from above — He who was the 
embodiment of all that is holy, just, and pure — He who spake as never 
man spake — gave us the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would 
have others do unto you." And although we have suffered, let us not 
forgot that they have suffered vastly more, and that they have been the 
unwilling dupes of wicked men. I would rather die than yield one 
iota of the great principles for which we are struggling ; but let us remain 
firm to the old landmarks of the Constitution, and in the hour of 
victory, (which assuredly must come,) demanding only what is 
iust and right. This is not a proper occasion to allude, more than inci- 
dentall)', to the passing events of the day. During the last week every 
patriotic heart in the land has been filled with tho most painful anxiety 
and suspense ; but I tell you, the result will conclusively demonstrate 
that bravo and loyal hearts are surrounding the beloved flag of our 
country, literally with a wall of fire. They Avill make a rooord that will 
glow with deeds of heroism as long as time shall endure, and in the holy 
work of battling for the Union and the Constitution of our fathers, there 
is no suoh word as fiiil. Let us have unlimited faith in the unflinching 
loyalty, the umimpeachable integrity and honesty of the President of the 
ITnitod States, Abraham LincoliN. Let us have unswerving confidence 
in the unsurpassed military ability, loyalty and devotion of our 
glorious young chieftain, McClellan, who is probably at this very 
moment nobly battling against the enemies of the Union. 

And although our beloved country is surrounded with perils — perils 
on the land and perils on the sea — perils at home and prosjiective pei'ils 
abroad; yet, I feel in my inmost heart that the day star of hope is 
rising, with healing on ita wings ; and I believe, as I stand before God 
this day, that He will, in His own good time, guide us to a glorious 
and immortal dastiny. 

Trusting that you will pardon my somewhat extended remarks upon 
this occasion, I now have the pleasure of introducing the Orator of 
the day, Hon. Georue Van Santvookd, of Troy. 



O K A T I O N . 



I COME ani^no; you, to-da}', my fellow citizons of Columbia County, 
feeling that I am not without some claim to the privileges of citizenship 
in a County where I have passed no inconsiderable part of "my active 
life. I come to lay my oftcrings of devotion and reverential homa'>"e 
with yours on the altar of Fatherland and Liberty, 

And as I stand before you on this bright morning which commemo- 
rates the greatest event in our history, in an assembly gathered under 
the folds of that proud old Flag, which, whether in victory or defeat, 
has hitherto preserved its honor untarnishod, and its traditional glories 
;indimmed, I cannot for a nlanlent be at a loss in selecting the subject 
of my discourse. 

There is, in Iced, but one theme for him who shall speak to his fellow 
countrymen on this day — -coninlon, nay, even hackneyed though it be — 
yet ever fresh, ever suggestive, ever glorious. That thenle I shall select, 
and shall speak to you of Liberty ilnd Union, our Country, and its 
glorious iustitutious ; and ill connexion with it, of some of the duties and 
obligations of the American citizen, in this solemn hour of our country's 
pei'il and tribuh'dioni 

Liberty ! it is the very watchword and countersign of the day we 
celebrate. It is echoed in the morning reveille, the booming cannon 
and the rejoicing^? of a great poople wliich greet the rising sun of Lide- 
pendence Day. And mingled with those rejoicings, swells on evovy 
breeze the music of that strong old Roman word, Libbrtas — making 
the very air around ns vocal with its melody, while all natitre sends 
back her inarticulate, but glad response. 

Surely that magic word, hymned by tens of thousands of voices — that 
grand choral anthem ascending Ileaven-ward, louder and clearer in this 
hour of peril and danger than ever before, cannot fail for once to arouse 
even the least demonstrative patriotism. And as the Avild tempest of 
domestic warfare rages around, the most quiet and contemplative amono" 
iH, as he looks out on the troubled ocean and sees the sacrc 1 ark of our 



12 

LiUortios and flic Cdnstitntion still safely rifling the l)illo\vs and dcfyino; 
the sttDnii, cannot fail for once to niinglc his voice with the o-cneral re- 
joicings, and exclaim with the quiet an<l contemplative Cowper: 

" oil ! could T worship a\i.ulit beneath the skies, 
That Kartli hath seen or fancy can devise, 
Thy Altar, sacred Liberty ! shonld stand, 
15nilt by no mercenary, vidar hand. 
With fragrant tnrf, and Howers as fresh and fair 
As ever decked a bank, or scented Sunnner air." 

Thanks he to the God of our fathers! that altar still stands, shrouded 
thougli it he for the moment in the habiliments of mourning for the 
crimes wdiich treason has committed in the name of Liberty. That 
altar still stands on a foundation as tirm, and broad, and lasting as when 
laid by the, hands of our fathers — hitherto secure from the assaults of 
foreign enemies, and unpolluted by the touch of domestic traitors. 

Liberty and Independence ! Noble words! Man's best conception 
of mere- temporal good. The most glorious of his mere earthly aspira- 
tions. But what are these words in their political significance to us as 
American citizens, save in their necessary connexion with thcno less 
liallowed word Unio?;. Beautifully harmonious in their application to 
our political system, they are bound indissolubly together. The one 
but the corollary of the other; links in the same chain ; arcs of the 
same circle, and both essential to make up its complement. 

Liberty ! with what ardor, in all ages of the world, has it been sought 
for, prayed for, struggled for ! And how vainly ! (_)r if found, how tran- 
scient and delusive the treasure. A beautiful but fugitive and phantom 
form, constantly gliding from the grasp, and ever eluding the hand of 
the pursuer. And the enthusiast for Liberty, who fancied he had found, 
and was about to possess it, like the fabled Lxion enamored of the 
majestic beauty of the stately (pieen of the Heavens, has awakened 
from his sleep only to hold a cloud in his embrace. 

And so the poet Southey has despondingly written of Liberty, in 

those lines, penned for an inscription on tlie walls of the apartment in 

which the republican regicide, Henry Marten, was for twenty years — 

the full remainder of his life — imprisoned : 

" For his ardent mind 
Shaped godliest plans of happiness on earth, 
And Peace and Liberty. AVild dreams! 
Bnt such as Plato loved; such as with holj' zeal 
Our Milton worshipped. Blest hopes I Awhile 
From man withheld, even to the latter dajj^s 
"When Christ shall come, and all things be fulfilled." 

Such indeed had been the discouraging history of men and nations, 
until that auspicious hour, when the Federal Constitution gas'c to tlie 



18 

world tlic liopo ami promise of a permanent estalilisliment of lilierty in 
the union of these States. And that hope has l>ee;i realized ; that 
promise until now has been faithfully kept. And the permanence of 
our liherties not onl}', hut the o'reatness and glorv of our common 
country, arc the blessed fruits of the Union and Constitution, framed 
by the wisdom, and consecrated by the patriotisiii of our fathers. 

It is the Union of these States that gave us political liberty. It is 
the union of these States that for so long a time has guarded and 
guaranteed our Independence. It is the union of these States that 
lirst taught us the secret of our sti'ength. It is the union of these 
States that has achieved our national greatness, and accomplished 
within the period of a human lifetime, those rapid but vast results 
which in other natioDs are the slow products of centuries-. It is the 
union of these States that is to unfold and work out for America the 
grandest destiny that Providence has ever assigned to any nation. 

IIow terse and expressive the utterance of our great Statesman : "Lib- 
erty AND Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." Expressive and 
yet profoundly significant in its political truth. It was the noble 
response to those words of "delusion and follv," uttered bv his 
opponent on the floor of the Senate Chamber, in all the warmth of 
Sonthern passion and of Southern menace, " Liberty first, and Union 
afterwards." The Southern Senator embodied thus in a phrase the 
whole of that stupendous fallacy and lie upon which this gigantic 
rebellion pretends to have its foundation. The Massachusetts Senator 
met and overwhelmed it by the unanswerable argument condensed in 
the single sentence I have quoted, and which embodies the true theory 
of the Constitution and Government. That immortal apothegm con- 
tains in itself a refutation of the wdiole theory of secession and treason. 
Liberty and Union. Union inseparable from Liberty. Liberty impos- 
sible without Union. In a maxim — a single phrase — the wdiole merits 
of the struggle in which we are now engaged is thus laid open. Here 
is the full vindication of our government in its dealing with the rebellion. 
Here is to be found the argument which shows the justice not only, 
but the political necessity of stretching forth the strong arm of power 
to its utmost, against armed treason which is seeking to strike down, 
with jiarricidal hand, the Constitution, and vainly striving to march 
over the wrecks of the Union to the conquest of Liberty. 

Oh, in this solemn hour of our country's peril, let ns keep the noble 
maxim constantly before us. Write it over the doors of our halls of 
Legislation. Inscribe it upon the banners of our armies. Let us, for 
the present at least, adjourn the debate on collateral questions — nay, on 



14 

all questions save the paramount, and all engrossing one : "IIow shall 
])()tli our Liberties ami the Union be preserved?" "IIow shall this 
rebellion he put down, and tlie war terniinatcd, with the least shock 
to the Constitution, and in a manner the most expeditious and most 
ctlectual ?" For put down it must be, at all hazards, and at any cost 
or sacrifice. Justly and mercifully, nay, liberally and magnanimously, 
as I would treat our erring countrymen should they incline to return 
to their allen-iance, yet no consideration on earth could induce me to 
compromise such a (parrel, or treat with them for separation and 
peace, while the sword of rebellion is still uplifted against us — no 
matter what havoc and desolation in the disloyal States must come 
from a farther prosecution of the war. It is their work, not ours. In 
tlic lano-uao-e of the patriot Gov. Stanley, boldly uttered but a few 
days suicc in the presence of his fellow citizens of North Carolina, I 
would say to them : " The Union must be preserved, though all the 
institutions of the South be periled, and all her property of every 
kind devastated. This Union and Government are worth more than 
all the property of the South, and the lives of all the rebels." 

Of what avail, then, is the present discussion of all other questions ? 
What were the causes, professed or secret, of the insurrection ? Who 
arc the responsible authors ? AVho is most to blame, the extreme agi- 
tator at the North, or the extreme, and if possible still more unreason- 
able, agitator at the South ? How might the war have been averted ? 
What will be its probable consequences ? What submissions are to be 
demanded from the one side, or what concessions to be yielded by the 
other? On what political basis is peace to be restored, or the Union 
re-established ? Important and far-reaching, though these and other 
kindred enquiries may be, yet cul bono ? To what good end their agita- 
tion now ? The time for the discussion of some of them is past ; that 
for the discussion of others not yet arrived. The sword has been 
drawn on both sides, and the scabbard thrown away. To us it has now 
narrowed down to a question of unconditional triumph and victory ; 
or, of abject defeat and ruin. And all the powers of the public intel- 
lect, all the resolutions and energies of the public heart, should be 
roused to grasp this broad and comprehensive question, and so to 
grasp it, and to settle it in the public mind, as to admit of no contin- 
gent or alternative proposition — no conclusion whatever, save that our 
liberties are safe only through and by means of the Union ; and that 
in the language of Andrew Jackson, "The Union must and shall be 
preserved." 

But the subject I have announced to you in connexion with the 



15 

tliemc of Llborty and Union, nnibrnccs also our country and its glorious 

institutions. 

Our Country ! As I spealc that word, so endt^arcd by its associations — 

so hallowed by its reminiscences — so comprehensive in the range of its 

graphic and fjimiliar history — so dear to every instinct, thought and 

affection of the mind, and fraught jvith all that is sacred in feeling and 

memory ; is there a heart that does not respond with earnestness and 

enthusiasm ? 

" Broallics there a man with soul so dead, 
Who never to himself has said, 
This is mj'' own. ray native land ?" 

The very existence of such an one, so devoid of the generous instincts 

and affections of the heart, seemed to the imagination of the poet 

almost incomprehensible. But surely, if there be any such, in this 

great and free America of ours, the promptings of the plainest, the most 

prosaic common sense will not fail to applaud the poet and join 

in his withering denunciation — 

" If such tliere breatlie, p;o mark liim well, 
Per liim no minstrel raptures swell, 
Ilig-h though his titles, proud his name. 
Boundless his wealtli as wish can claim, 
Despite those titles, power, and ])elf, 
The wretch concentered all in self ; 
Living, shall forfeit fair renown. 
And doubly dying, shall go down 
To the vile dust from whence he sprung, 
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung." 

Our Country! Native Land! Land of our birth ! Land of our 
fathers' graves ! What is our country ? What has it been ? What is 
it destined to become? Dwell with me for a moment upon this theme. 

Our country, what is it to-day ? Ah, look forth you who have not 
yet seen with your own eyes the havoc of war — look forth from your 
own fortified castle — 'for by the free spirit of that rugged old common 
law which we inherit, the domestic hearth and dwelling house of every 
freeman is his castle — look forth from that castle nestling peacefully in 
this beautiful valley of the Hudson, almost within the shadow which 
the old Catskills throw out from the face of the westering sun — look 
forth in imagination only on the terrific drama now being enacted in 
that sister commonwealth, once the pioneer of liberty, now the half- 
reluctant follower of secession, and thank God that you are not a 
participant in scenes like these. Observe the movements of hostile 
armies — >the smoke ascending from burning villages and hamlets — 
fertile fields laid waste and desolate — and all the horrors that follow in 
the train of civil war. And this is our country ! This the fatherland 
which but little more than half a century ago our Washington, when 



16 

lie ascended to Ilcfiven, left behind him with his blessing, and his 
solemn wai'nino- to beware of civil discord and domestic strife. 

I know not how it may be to others, but to me the picture is a most 
sad and mournful one. Here and there it is true it is lighted up with 
the gorgeous coloring of some brilliant achievement in arms — some gal- 
lant victory won — some deed of heroic valor or generous constancy. 
But the spectacle still is dark, sombre and solemn. It is the spectacle 
of the " Paradise Lost" — the rebel angels — the " Lucifers, bright sons 
of the morning," fallen from Heaven, and writhing now in impotent rage 
upon the sea of burning marl — powerless to carry out the wicked 
promptings of their ambition, and yet unable to retrieve the steps of 
their fatal error. Who shall hereafter undertake the narrative of scenes 
like these ? Whose hand shall attempt to bathe in the blithe warm 
sunlight a picture so dark and dismal. The imagination shrinks back 
aghast, and genius itself folding up her wings in despair, turns aside 
with dismay from the unwelcome task. Triumph eventually though 
we may, ay! and shall, (for right and justice will triumph sooner or 
later over error and wrong) yet the future narrative of this fratricidal 
contest by whomsoever it may be penned, and whatever proud and 
glorious achievements it may record, will be the saddest chapter in our 
country's annals. 

Civil war is at best but a desolation, a scourge, and a curse. Pre- 
eminently so is the civil war that now distracts our country. There is 
no parallel to it to be found in history. It is like that nameless crime 
which the ghostly messenger from another world whispered in the ear 
of the horror struck Hamlet, that abhorred 

" Murder most fou], as at the best it is ; 
Bat this most foul, strange, and uuuatural." 

Survey the field for a moment. Powerful armies on cither side, of 
our own countrymen, covering a vast extent of territory, are engaged in 
a bloody internecine contest. It is carried on by the insurgents with 
an animosity and bitterness that heretofore has characterized only the 
warfare waged by a survile race against their oppressors. It involves a 
daily expenditure of treasure compared with which the lavish outlays 
of Great Britain in her continental wars might be called insignificant. 
It has been prompted by the most unsubstantial reasons, and without 
even the shadow of any just pretext. And in view of all this, is it not 
true, that the civil war of America will stand out on the page of history, 
in its magnitude, as well as its folly and wickedness, alone ; — the great 
political ci'ime of the age. 

The servile insurrections in the Roman Em])ire, or of any enslaved 



17 



people In any age of tlio world, iV.rnish no parallel to tliis,. for liere lut.'v 
been no oppression — no domination of race over raec — of victors ovev 
vanquished. The revolution in England furulshcs no parallel, for thai 
was not a sectional rising of the })ei)|)le, hut a niovenieut of tlu^ com- 
mons against the hereditary monarch — a movement to secure civil 
and religious freedom. The civil wars of the Vendee, in France, furnish no 
parallel ; for these, if fierce and relentless, were ennobled by a sentiment 
of fidelity and loyalty to the old hereditary dynasty of the Bourbons, 
and the fight was waged against a government which had never been 
the choice of, and never recognized by the insurgent people. The 
insurrections in Greece, Poland, Hungary, Italy, furnish no parallel, for 
they were the uprislogsof separate nationalities, struggling to wrest their 
independence from foreign domination. The American Revolution — 
nay, I cannot even in contrast, or by way of illustration, name the 
glorious event which this day commemorates, with that which will 
henceforth have for its anniversary the dies irae — tlie day of wrath and 
mourning and humiliation, on which the traitorous assault was made 
upon the fiao" of the Union, waving over the ramparts of Fort Sumter. 

No, my fellow citizens, you will search histoiy in vain for a parallel to 
this insurrection — so vast, so wide spreatl, so formidable, and yet so 
causeless — this scene of unexampled political folly and wickedness — 
this gigantic national crime. 

But ao^ain, history on the other hand furnishes no parallel to the 
unanimity with which the rebellion has been met by all classes in the 
loyal States — the cheerfulness of the sacrifices of blood and treasure 
voluntarily made by all classes — the indomitable resolution displayed — 
the fixed determination to triumph at all hazards, and cost what sacrifice 
it may, and the never failing, never faltering confidence, nay, the almost 
assured certainty of ultimate success, no matter what temporary advers- 
ities may check our arms. 

Let me remark further. Dark and terrible though the picture be 
which the rebellion presents — sad and desolating though the contest 
prove to many parts of your country — vast though its drain upon our 
own resources, and mournfully sad in its hecatomb of victims heaped as 
sacrifices upon the altar of country," yet it has at the same time its 
bright and hopeful aspect. The rebellion is not productive w holly of 
unmixed evil. It has its bright side which I nmst not pass by in silence. 
And among its results stands prominently forth the tact that it has shown 
to the world the vast power and boundless resources of our country in 
such a manner as will hereafter be the best security we can obtain 
from other nations to keep the peace. 
3 



It has developed, too, tlic stroio'th and vitality of the Govornment in 
such a manner as to be sufficient to satisfy every State in the Union for 
all coming time, tliat rebellion is miprotitablc as well as hopeless. 

Above all, it has called forth those proofs of devoted loyalty and rev- 
erential love and affection for the institutions of our country, at once 
enthusiastic and unanimous, which assure us, and ought to convince 
the world, that hereafter no power on earth shall be able to shake them. 

Thus over the dead carcass of the lion of secession, when it shall liave 
been slain, we shall, like Sampson, bo able to say : "Out of the cater 
came forth meat; out of the strong came forth sweetness." 

And who shall say that these dear bought experiences, these lessons 
so useful to us, so instructive to the world, will not be worth fully the 
high price at which they have been purchased ? 

I proceed then to consider one or two of these cheering and hopeful re- 
sults which the rebellion has already produced ; and in the tirst place notice 
the vast power and boundless I'csources displayed on the part of the 
Irovernment in the conduct of the war — the evidence of a startling and 
unexampled progress — -the harbinger of future greatness — and which 
cannot but have taught the nations of Christendom that the United 
States of America is no longer a second, but a first class power among 
them. 

To our own people this unexpected display of power and resources is 
almost as surprising as to foreign nations. In truth, a year ago we 
knew not our own strength. To-day we know, and see, and feel it. 
And what is more and better, the civilized world knows and appreciates 
it. Years of peaceful industry and of a silent but rapid progress in 
population, wealth, commerce, agriculture, in the meclianic and invent- 
ive arts, in all that can make a people great and prosperous, haxe carried 
us onward until we have become in fact, as in name, a power among 
nations. And we ourselves were ignorant almost of our wealth and re- 
sources. The sleeping Samson lay all unconscious of liis strength until 
the cry rang in his ears, "the Philistines are upon thee!" when he 
arose in his might and broke the withes which bound him "as a thread 
of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire." 

Consider, too, in what a wonderfully brief period all this has been 
accomplished. Seven centuries and a half elapsed between the Eome 
of Romulus and the Rome of Augustus ; l)etwecntlie little village of huts 
on the baid<s of the Tiber, and that mighty city, which Augustus found of 
brick and left of marble, the mistress of the world. A thousand years 
separates the England of the Saxon kings from the Great Britain of 
to-day, whose martial dnnn-beat encircles the globe. And yet the brief 



19 

cycle of a century — brief in the life-time of a nation — has not closed 
since yonder tlag was tirst unfurled at the niastdiead of Paul Jones' 
crazy old " Bon Homme Richard" — -a thing of curious wonder to its 
friends, and of scorn and derision to its enemies. To-day that flag 
floats on every sea, over a commerce which rivals the commerce of 
England, and guards the coasts of an empire more magnificent than 
the empire of the Ciesars, stretching along the line of the Atlantic and 
Gulf from the St. Lawrence to New Orleans, and from the Oregon to 
San Francisco, on the shores of the Pacific. 

Thus has a great nation, as it were, been born in a day. And if wc 
judge of the future by the past, what prodigious energies, what vast 
achievements lie undeveloped in the coming centuries. This rebellion 
suppressed and the Union re-established on the basis of the Constitution, 
and a united America having once more entered upon her career of 
peaceful prosperity, may she not, will she not, from a first class become 
a controlling power, and the arbiter of the destinies of nations. The 
iniud cannot readily grasp a thought so elevated. The imagination cannot 
compass the possibilities of the future; should we attempt to do so we 
may mistake the creations of a heated fancy for the sober deductions of 
reason. 

Were I to say to you that it is not among the impossibilities — nay, 
scarcely among the improbabilities — 'of history, measuring the future 
by the experience of the past, that the grand-children of some wdio now 
hear me, may, in their day, cast their eye upon a morning journal, which 
shall contain the intelligence — by no means a matter of surprise to tho 
reader — »that the American fleet, of five hundred iron floating castles, 
of a size and capacity superior to any hitherto constructed by the gen- 
ius of man, each impervious to any projectile or force of attack that 
the far advanced science of the age had yet invented, had just set sail 
from the harbors of Boston, New York and Norfolk, to destroy the 
British fleet and bombard the city of London. 

Were I to say it was not among the impossibilities of history that 
the same reader might cast his eye upon a telegram, ten minutes from 
St. Petersburgh, conveying the intelligence that the x\merican army of 
five hundred thousand volunteers, in the pay of our all}', the Czar of 
Russia — 'the most liberal, the most magnanimous, the most truly dem- 
ocratic monarch of the age — 'having passed over one of our lines of 
national railway to Behring's Straits, and crossed the international ferry 
there into Asia; had been whirled rapidly over the great line of Russian 
railway to Moscow, and having been joined by the Russian contingent 
of the same number of men, was marching upon Paris and London, to 



20 

])itt down the great commercial monopoly of Britain, and the military 
despotism of France, and give political and commercial freedom to all 
nations. I say, were I to draw npon my fancy for any sucli speculations 
as these, I should be prouounccLl the most idle of visionaries and the 
wildest of enthusiasts. 

But now glance back for a moment over the eigl\ty-two years, nearly, 
A\ liich have elapsed between the revolutionary siege of Yorktown, and the 
siege which has just terminated, and tell me if the contrast is less strik- 
ino-. Observe the little army of Washington, appearing to us so insig- 
nificant in numbers, tcr them so formidable — taxing as it did the entire 
population and resources of the country — 11,000 American soldiers all 
told, in addition to the 5000 of their French allies — in the old conti- 
nental uniform and equipments, with the old continental musket and can- 
non, marching to the music of the dram and fife upon the British entrench- 
ments under the discipline and tacticstaught in the school of Frederick the 
Great, before a greater than he, the master in the art of war, had carried 
that art to perfection. Compare all this with the magnificent army of 
McClcllan, and his auxiliary corps in Virginia, slowly concentrating 
around the rebel Capital — a quaiter of a million of men in arms — mar- 
slialled against an enemy, our own countrymen, perhaps superior in 
number, though inferior in e(]uipments, in discipline — shall I say cour- 
age? No. Bad though his caus^ is, let us do the rebel the justice to 
say, that he is still an American freeman, and he would be unworthy 
that name if ho were not gallant and brave; A quarter of a million of 
Federal soldiers in the field in Virginia, making up, with our forces at 
the west and in other parts of the Confederacy, the full complement of 
half a million of men — an army larger than that which marched under 
the eagles of Napoleon to the bmiks of the Niemen — under a disci- 
pline equal to that of the famous Macedonian phalanx which conquered 
under Alexander on the banks of the Granicus. And withal a high 
standard of individual intelligence, united with an ardent patriotism 
and love of Liberty, that has never heretofore pen-aded and lent its moral 
energies to such masses of men. Every improvement in the enginery of 
war, every invention known to science — the steam engine and balloon — 
the electric telegraph and the iron clad ship — the sabre bayonet and the 
deadly ^liuie rifie — the ritletl cannon and the Parrott gun — the most in- 
genious contrivances of human skill a}(plied to the forces of nature — all 
arc made to contribute to the eftectiveness of this magnificent army. It 
avails itself of inventions in the deadly art of war never dreamed of, and of 
weapons unknown at the period of our revolution, between which and 
t'.ie ])reseut time, the lapse of centuries rather than of years seems to 



21 



have intcrvcncil. Surely tlicre is as wide a diftVrcncc between the 
ii'on clad Monitor, and the Boa Ilommc liicha)'d of Paul Jones, as 
between the magnificent steamships tliat now traverse the Atlantic, and 
the frail bark in which Culumlms set sail upou the unknown ocean. 
The Minic rifle and Parrott gun arc as far in advance of the old con- 
tinental flint lock and iron cannon, as the latter were superior to the 
weapons which conqnei'cd at Cressy and Aginconrt. 

And look yonder, tar off in the clouds, a most strange reconnoisancc ! 
As the deadly contest rages below", far above the sinoke of the battle- 
field, and beyond the reach of the most powerful projectile, sits the telc- 
grapliic a3ronaut in his gossamer air ship, telescope in hand, hovering 
over both armies and watcliing intently the bloody drama enacted on 
the earth beneath him. And observe that almost invisible wire con- 
necting the car of the jcrial voyager with the earths Examine its 
operations and see the crowning triumph of the most marvelous dis- 
covery of man's inventive genius. It is lending' its aid to the operations 
of successful battle. The man in the clouds is convevsing with the 
General at the head of our armies — sending on the wings of the light- 
iiino- his reports of every change of position, eveiy new movement of the 
enemy — not by means of signs and signals, but in the characters of 
intelligible written language. 

Surely, if at the council table of Washington at his head quarters 
near Yorktown, in that memorable autumn of 1781, there had sat one 
who had ventured to predict that marvels like these were possible and 
might be witnessed upon the same theatre of action before a century 
had passed away, he too would have been pronounced the wildest of 
enthusiasts and the most idle of visionaries. And yet we have seen all 
this with our own eyes, and that too without exciting "our special 
wonder." 

Let me repeat, then, that e^•idences like these, carrying with them the 
force of demonstration, of the past progress and present power not only, 
but of the future expansion and greatness of our country, are among the 
most valuable as well as cheering results of this rebellion. The gaze of 
the civilized world is at this moment fixed intently on America ; and. 
that nation must be blind which cannot read with profit and instruction 
the lesson that is taught in the demonstration which, at this moment, 
she is making of her unconquerable energy, illimitable resources, and 
irresistable power. When the wounds inflicted by treason shall have 
been healed, this Government will stand forth in its full majesty* 
broader and stronger than before. Then shall it be in a condition to 
remember insults and injuries which must now be passed by in silence, 



22 

and to suffer no more of tliem without full reparation and atonetfient; 
Then sliall it he in a position to re-assert the Monroe doctrine to its 
fullest extent, and suffer no more foreign interference on this Continent 
France will hesitate long before she again undertakes to meddle witli 
the affairs of Mexico, much less attempt her subjugation, and the erec- 
tion of a monarchy upon the ruins of her institutions. England will 
send no more such peremptory demands, as in the case of the Trent 
for the redress even of a conceded, though unintentional, affront ; but 
will be taught to observe that civility of manner and language which 
custom has sanctioned as the universal law among nations as among 
individuals. 

Let me digress here for a moment to say, that the course of Great 
Britain in regard to this matter of the Trent was no exception to hei' 
general rule of action ; and but exhibited one of her most prominent 
national characteristics. Obsequious to the powerful, but a haughty 
braggert ; and an oppressor over the wcali, England, as her public 
history shows, is ever ready to take advantage of a rival's present diffi^ 
culties, embarrassments, or weakness. Thus when republican France 
lay almost throttled before the armies of the coalition, the same Eng- 
land which is now the obsequious ally of France, great and powerful, 
having up to that time stood aloof to let others do the work, and seeing 
then her safe opportunity, bravely stepped in, to put the knife to the 
throat of her prostrate rival and ancient enemy. So when republican 
Holland, emerging from a series of bloody wars, lay crippled and ex- 
hausted, England seized with avidity the favorable moment to crush 
her formidable commercial rival, and despoil her of her American pos- 
sessions. So to others less powerful than herself, or laboring under 
embarrassments which rendered them an easy prey, Great Baitain, the 
great highwayman of nations, has not hesitated to embrace the safe 
opportunity, and say, "stand and deliver ;" thus building up her com- 
merce upon the ruins of her rivals, and adding to her vast possessions 
the territories wrongfully despoiled from other governments. 

The case of the "Trent" could not well be an exception. England 
was preparing for America the same role she had played with Holland 
and France. The hands of her most formidable commercial rival were 
tied up by a civil war, which taxed all the energies and resources of 
our Government. The time had come for Great Britain to strike and 
dismember the Republic, if but the shadow of a decent pretext offered, 
thus leaving her the undisputed mistress of the commerce of the world. 
Her demand for redress was no doubt just in itself, and in accordance 
with the principles of an enlightened public law — as the masterly and 



23 

Imninoiis argument of the Secretary of State clearly shows — but it w.ifl 
so peremptory in tone aud supercilious in manner, as to be well calcula- 
ted, if not designed^ to provoke a proud and sensitive people, and it 
meant war. Fortunately for the country, in that, the most critical and 
darkest hour of our struo-o'lc, it had a statesman of clear intellect and 
judgment, and of calm and unruffled temper, at the head of the foreign 
department, who had the sagacity to foresee, and the wisdom and mod- 
eration to avoid the quarrel sought to be thrust upon us ; and, placing 
the action of our Government upon the l^roadest and most enlightened 
principles of international law, rescued the country from the threatened 
peril, without the sacrifice of one iota of the national dignity and honor. 

But it cannot be denied that the ungracious act of England in 
seeking, at such a time and in such a tone and manner, the redress of 
an uninteiitional affront to her flag — and one wholly unauthorized by 
our government — has sorely irritated the public mind of the nation ; 
nor has the ungenerous conduct of her public press and public men 
served to allay that irritation. When our hands shall have been again 
untied, and the Union restored as it was, P^ngland, which has now had 
an opportunity of witnessing our latent and hitherto unexhibitcd ener- 
gies, will no doubt be cautious how she ventures to provoke a quarrel, 
even upon the merest point of etiquette or punctilio. We shall have 
no more peremptory demands for the redress of unintentional affronts, as 
in the case of the Trent, or even of much greater causes of oftense. 

But to return from this digression, let me observe in the next place 
that this rebellion has been productive of the most cheering, and, I 
believe, highly valuable results, in the evidence it aftords of the vitality 
and strength of the Government. I do not exactly like that form of 
expression which is sometimes used, "a strong Government," as applied 
to our political institutions ; implying, as it does, the idea of State 
consolidation, an all controlling, all absorbing central power, wielded 
not only within the proper domain of the federal jurisdiction, but en- 
croaching upon the organic functions of the States as separate sovereign- 
ties within the sphere of their admitted rights plainly reserved to them 
nnder the Constitution. I do not use the term in any such sense, nor in 
any sense that may be said to present a debatable political or party 
question, which has been my intention in this discourse scrupulously to 
avoid. When I speak of the vitality and strength of our Government, 
I speak of the Government as actinoj within the conceded sphere of its 
Constitutional authority ; I mean of course conceded, not by those who 
derive the modern doctrine of the right of secession from the metaphy- 
sical and wire drawn theories of Mr. Calhoun, (the advocates of which, I 



21 

believe, fii'c very few, IF ;iny, fiiiiono; us), but conceded by all loyal men, as 
laid dowu in tluitinost luasterly of American State papers — the Procla- 
mation in regard to South Carolina — penned by a native of your own 
county, one of the ujost brilliant ot Anjevican statesmen, Edwad Living- 
ston, and bearing the signature of one of tne sternest and purest of 
American patriots, Andrew Jackson. Taking this as the true exposition 
of the theory of our Constitution, and as correctly defining the limits of 
State powers, and marking out the proper bouudaries of the federal 
authority (in which I think we all may concui'), 1 find that we have, as 
I believe it was the design of its founders that we should have, a Gov- 
ernment of vital energy and strength — self-existent, self-sustaining, self- 
preserving. Indeed, I am unable to conceive the idea of Government at 
all under any other form. A mere league, a mere conventional compact 
to be terminated at pleasure, is not a Government. Government implies 
the idea of sovereignty, supremacy ; and our Constitution is declared to 
be the Supreme Law of the land. It must of necessity possess the 
inherent power to execute the laws and protect, defend and preserve 
itself, by the use of all necessary means — by exercising, if you please, 
the right of eminent domain — by repelling and putting down force 
with force. Hitherto the great problem has been, could the Govern- 
ment summon at will, under all emergencies, and in every circumstance 
of peril, the requisite power to accomplish these things ? The rebellion 
lias solved that problem. It has demonstrated the all important truth 
that the Federal Government is not a mere abstraction — not a mere 
temporary commission, harmless in times of peace and prosperity, pow- 
erless amid the perils of war and the shock of revolution — but on the 
contrary, that it is a sovereignty, endowed with prodigious energy, full 
of vitality and vigor, ready to cope single-handed with any danger, in 
any emergency, and armed in proof against foes within as well as foes 
without. I repeat it, this wonderful display of concentrated strength, 
and hitherto undeveloped energy, will be sufficient to teach rebellion, 
come from what quarter it may. North or South, East or West, for all 
time to come, that its assaults must prove abortive, and recoil back in 
ruin on itself ; and that though it should hereafter confront us with more 
heads than the fabled Hydra, it will find in our Constitution the Hercules 
which shall lay those heads, one by one, low in the dust. Where else 
could a truth so vital have found its perfect demonstration ? Are we 
sure that the experience, bitter and costly though it is, Avas not necessary 
to our future safety ? May it not in the end prove to be worth all the 
blood and treasure that have been poured out to purchase it ? The 
lesson, so inestimably valuable, so necessary to our present peace and 



future security, is imt tlie ukm-c oral lesson of spoken Ijingnage, or tlio 
■written teaeliiuy; ofllie pcui ; but it is scarred deep nj)on the forehead of 
this rebellion, by the red lightnings and dread thunderbolts of battle ; 
and it will stand on the recorded page of history, an exainj>le and a 
Avarning to future generations, whicli time shall never eti'aco. 

But I pass on to point out another, and the last I shall notice, of 
these bright and cheering results — the most cheering, the most hopeful 
of all — which the rebellion has bronght forth. It is found in the proofs 
which it gives of devoted l(-»yalty and re\erential love and affection for 
our country and its institutions, the best and snrcst guarantee that can 
be given of their stability and permanence. 

Where, in all history, will you find i^ur]\ evidence of devotion to 
conntiy and loyalty to its institutions, as is given in that spontaneous, 
uprising of the whole people at the first summons to arms in defense of 
the Flag of the Union ? The sound of the cannon at Foit Sumter had 
scarcely died away before the loyal States from one extremity to the 
other were bristling with bayonets. Three months suflficed to turn a 
nati(ni devoted to the industrial pursuits of peace, into a nation of sol- 
diers. Truly it seemed as though secret treason had already sown tlic 
dragon's teeth, for the earth literally teemed with armed men. 

That this is no sham demonstration of patriotism — tliat the peoplo 
are in earnest, resolved to do or die for their country and its institu- 
tions, and to sacrifice their all of fortune or of life, of possessions, of 
blood, for the Union and the Constitution, is evidenced in the events 
which have transpired upon the rapidly shifting scenes of the drama. 
At the first tap of the drum half a million of men sprang to arms and 
enrolled themselves under the Vlnti of the Union. Half a million more 
were in readiness to follow. Ca|)ital promptly stepped forward to th'' 
aid of the Government. The nation's wealth was poured in rivers inti, 
the pul)lic treasuiy. The nation's resources were freely ofiercd, au'^ 
pledged without stint to the support of the national cause. Other 
countries, under sudden perils and emergencies like this, have been 
obliged to resort to other means of defense and safety. Confiscations, 
levies, impressments, have been the order of the day. Even France, bat 
tling for liberty against all F]urope in arms, at the close of the last 
century found not the means other defense in the free ofterings of hei 
people. Those inuncnsc armies, comprising more than a million of men. 
which guarded her frontiers, were raised by the levy in mass wliich laid 
its inexorable hand upon all citizens capable of bearing arms ; and they 
were kept on foot and led and clothed by the confiscated property of 
the fugitive nobility and of the despoiled church. AN'ith us, there have 
4 



2(3 



l)ccn no confiscations, no impressments. Every dollar that finds its way 
to the treasury, is the free contribution of the people. Every recruit 
in the army is the volunteer soldier of liberty. For a quarter of a cen- 
tury the martial sj)irit of the French peoj)le was kept alive by the love- 
of glory, and the fierce excitements of battle and victory. But such a 
sentiment — all pervading and potent though it was among a people- 
like the French — could not avail to supply the vast armies of Napoleoa 
without a resort to the conscription. 

Even among the rebels themselves, who boast that they are fighting" 
for independence, necessity has compelled' a resort to impressments to- 
recruit their diminishing ranks, and forced loans to supply their empty 
treasury. But the people of the loyal States are animated to deed's of 
self-sacrifice and heroic patriotism by a nobler sentiment than the meuc 
love of glory which animated the soldiers of Napoleon and the people 
of France. They are summoned to the defense of the Flag of the 
Union in a better and more righteous cause than that which supports 
the drooping rebel flag. And they obey the summons Avith alacrity 
and enthusiasm. Possessing the right, the- Government has no need to 
exercise the power, of eminent domain and extreme sovereignty. No 
conscriptions, no impressments, no forced contributions or compulsory 
loans. Men and means are freely offered in abundance. More 
than half a million of volunteers already enlisted compose the advance 
guard of the grand army of the Union. As many more — nay 
still greater numbers if necessary— ready to enlist, constitute the 
reserve army of Liberty and the Constitution, The wealth and 
resources of the country are freely pledged to support the contest. 
Capital contributes without a murmur to the revenues of the country, 
and industry and labor cheerfully submit to share the common burdens. 
Thus the cheering fact is shown that our greatness and power as a 
nation are fast anchored in the affections of the people. The people 
are not only satisfied with their' Government and their institvitions, but 
they love and reverence them. They are fighting not to gain a liberty 
of which they are deprived, but to defend and maintain a liberty which 
they possess, and institutions which they hold dearer than all on earth 
besides, 

AVliile this devoted loyalty survives, and this reverential love and af- 
fection for oiu- institutions continue, such a Government is indestructi- 
ble, and such a people cannot be vanquished. 

Let me in conclusion very briefly allude, in connexion with this sub- 
ject, to some of the duties and obligations resting upon the American 
citizen in this hour of his country's peril and tribulation. 



And the first I notice is tlic oblio-ation of patriotism — of loj-alty ou 
the part of tlie citizen to the sovereign power, the Government which 
protects and defends him. I do not regard patriotism as one of the 
virtnes, or h^yalty as a thing deserving of special enlogy. To me they 
seem to be innate, inborn attections, pL\nted in the human heart by nature 
lierself, as much so as the natural atfection which a dutiful child cherish- 
es for his parent. To feel the natural instinct of a patriotic, lofc of coun- 
try, and to act as its pronaptings dictate, is not the practice of a virtue, 
but a duty imposing no self-denial. But to come short of that duty is 
justly deserving the reprobation and scorn of mankind. The undutiful^ 
ungrateful child, the disloyal citizen, both are recreant to the plainest 
dictates of natural affection and duty. It seems to rae to be impossible 
for the right feeling, right minded citizen, living in such a country as 
this, and under institutions like ours, to be unpatriotic and disloyal, and 
false to that conntryand its institutions. There must be some adequate 
motive to draw him from his native instincts and affections. And such 
motive springs always from the baser or more malignant passions of the 
heart — the promptings of envy, or the devilish thirst of ambition, or 
the cursed love of gold, Avhich made Benedict Arnold a traitor to his 
country, and Judas Iscariot a traitor to his God. 

Yet, while it may be assumed that we are all in this general sense 
patriotic, and share that universal sentiment whicli pervades even bar- 
berous as well as civilized nations, there arc at the same time different 
grades and degrees of patriotism — from the lowest degree whicli calmly 
folds its arms in contentnjcnt, and is Avilling to let others fight the bat- 
tles and sustain the burdens, while it enjoys the blessings of Govern- 
ment, to that loftier patriotism, so pure, so ardent and so self-sacrificing 
as to win and deserve the admiration of mankind ; a patriotism which 
though not virtue in itself, is productive of acts of rarest virtue, deeds 
of heroic devotion and generous constancy. 

The Roman language had no synonyme to express the idea conveyed 
by our word virtue. The Roman virtus was simply courage, strength. 
To us it has a wdder, but still a precise and definite meaning. So of the 
word patriotism, it has to us a more comprehensive significance than is 
conveyed in its primary meaning. It is not mere love of country, but 
it is that and something more. It is an affection of the mind as 
•well as of the heart. It is based upon the intelligence as well as 
upon the feelings and sentiments. Now, what we want in this crisis of 
our country, is a patriotism of this broad and coiuprehensive cast. An 
intelligent patriotism, that shall manifest itself in acts which spring not 
merely from the impulsive feeling of the moment, bat which arc the 
deliberate convictions of the judgment and reason. 



28 

This leads me to notice nnotlier of tlie olilio-atlons and duties inenra- 
Lcnt upon the citizen in this hour of his country's trial. And that is, a 
cordial and unreserved support of the Government and the constituted 
authorities. V>y the (Jovernnicnt I mean the administration in whose 
hands the direction of public aftairs is vested. By the constituted au- 
thorities I mean the ofKcers of the Government lawfully chosen or 
appointed under the forms of the constitution and the laws, to discharge 
the functions of official duty, be it executive, administrative or judicial. 
I believe it to be the duty of tlie true patriot and good citizen in this 
dark hour, when the very existence of our country is threatened by a 
treason more flao-raiit and a rebellion more formidable than the world 
has yet seen, to sustain the Administration in its honest efforts to put 
down the treason and crush out the rebellion. No matter wdiat political 
opinions he may have heretofore entertained ; no matter how warmly 
in opposition to the Administration now- in power he may have been, 
tlie good citizen, I am sure, will see the line of his duty in strengthcn- 
iig the arm of the Government as iar as in him lies, by a cordial sup- 
port of the measures it devises to accomplish the great work it has 
undertaken. 

There is, Indeed, to-day, but one political question. All others sink 
into utter msi >'niticance beside it. Party opposition, in times of peace 
so healthful, nay, so necessary, as I believe, in a democracy, to a proper 
and pure administration of the Government, is here out of place, for it 
implies a want of unanimity which detracts from our strength and may, 
perhaps, indirectly bring hope, if not aid and comfort to the enemy. 
I reserve my rights, as a free elector, when peace siiall have been re- 
stored, to criticise the acts of public men, and the merits of public 
measures, with the same freedom that I am willing to accord to any 
other citizen. To-day, when the storm rages and the tempest howls, 
when the alarm bell is sounding, and the shock of battle rocks this 
continent to its foundations, I am willing to forego this privilege, and 
to do my humble duty, like the sailor on the ship, or the soldier in 
the ranks, Avithout questioning the wisdom of every order given, or 
every movement made by him in command. No matter whether or not 
at some time I may have thought tiiat others would have better met 
the emergency. I am not, on thit» account, now to stand aloof. " The 
powers that be," in the iiour of my country's peril, are entitled to my 
allegiance. Let me but be satisfied that they are honest and loyal, 
true to their trust, faithful in their efforts to put down this rebellion, 
and 1 have no right to ask for moi'c. Errors may be committed, nay 
errors must be committed, for the day when an unerrinir intclliu'ence 



20 



and an iiifallihle wisilom sliall direct tlie affairs of any nation, has not yet 
dawned upon the world. I may say here, in tliis public place, and this 
large assembly, without the fear of giving offense or the hazard of mis- 
construc^tion, that I am satisfied of the loyalty, the tidclity, the honesty, 
and singleness of pui'pose of the Excciitivc now at the head of the Gov- 
ernment. And I should consider myself recreant to my plain concep- 
tions of duty, if I should fail to sustain to the extent of my humble 
ability the honest and energetic efforts he is making to crush this 
rebellion and restore our glorious Union. 

No matter in what subordinate position I may be called u])on to act, 
even if it be the humble one of encouraging and animating mv fellow 
citizens, of urging them to submit cheerfully to the national burdens, 
to contribute liberally, to fight manfully — no matter how unrecognized 
my services may be, or how my " rank and consideration" may be 
affected ; the struggle is not for the individual glory or pi-ivate interest 
of any man, but for the salvation of the country. " Perisli my reputa- 
tion, but let France be free," was the exclamation of Dantou in the 
French convention, and the rough eloquence of the fierce revolutionist 
had the ring of the true metal in it, and it went abroad over all France 
and fired the hearts of the people. 

Mere silent assent, mere passive obedience to the laws, is not enough. 
The country requires the cordial, the hearty, the active support of its 
citizens. At this moment it dcuiands, and it appeals to our patriotism, to 
give more men and more money. A tax bill of formidable proportions, 
it is true, but uiost necessary, has just been framed to supply the means, 
and a call for 300,000 men is made to recruit the diminished streno-th 
of the army. Shall we shrink from the call ? Shall it not be obeyed 
with alacrity ? All of us are not required, all of us are not fit to enlist 
in the ranks of the army. Many of us would bring weakness rather 
than strength to the Govenmient by crowding its ambulances and hos- 
pitals with the sick and infirm, long before an oppoilunity offered of 
martyrdom on the battle field. But if we cannot all^^y A/, we can work, 
and labor, and i^fly. Let it be done, and let it be done cheerfully. 

And this leads me to notice another obligation resting upon us in 
addition to the duty of active support of the Government; namely : the 
duty of a cordial acquiescence in and approval of the necessary ineas- 
ures of the Government to accomplish the great end in view. 

We boast, and justly, of our boundless resources, as a nation ; let us 
see who shall contribute most cheerfully so much as the Government 
requires at his hands for its necessities. Nay, if it requires, twice, thrice, . 
ten times the amount, let us not parade our patriotism if wc hesitate 



30 

for a moinont to acquiesce and approve. Let tlierc 1)C no groam over 
the weight of our bunlens, or oTumblings over measures of finance or 
nieasni-es of wai-. Away with tlie fault finders and grumblers. In a 
great contest like this, when the whole moral energies and the united 
physical power of the nation are necessary to bring the struggle to a 
speedy and ti'iumphant close, they hang like a dead weight upon the 
wheels of the Govcrmnent. AVhat the country has a right to demand, 
and what it is the plain duty of the citizen to yield, is a cheerful and 
hearty acquiescence in the necessary measures of the Government and 
the burdens imposed on us. AVhen our soldiers are ofl"ering their lives 
on the battle fiekl, let ns not boast of our patriotism at home, if we hes- 
itate, should the necessities of the Government demand it, to divide 
equally between our country and our families, the products of our in- 
dustry and the possessions it may accumulate. 

It is the duty of the good citizen, too, to avoid a carping and cap- 
tious spirit of criticism ; that groveling spirit which is constantly on 
the alert and mousing around to detect flaws and imperfections, errors 
and mistakes, and cannot elevate the range of its vision to the broad 
plain of generalities, or take in at a glance those grand results, which, 
when achieved, are the best criterions to judge of the success as well, 
as the magnitude of great enterprises. 

Let us avoid all this. Let us be liberal, nay, generous in our judg- 
ments, upon unavoidable or unintentional mistakes, whether in the 
Cabinet or in the field. Let us not imitate the savage justice — no, not 
justice, but the blind vengeance of the French convention — which sent 
their unfortunate gen'erals who had suffered defeat to the guillotine. The 
mistake of to-day may be the victory of to-morrow\ The present eiTor 
may bring the experience which shall result in measures that are per- 
fected in greater Avisdom. 

Finally, the last remaining duty of the American citizen in our pres- 
ent crisis, which I shovdd mention, is the duty of hopefulness. And 
who shall estimate the incalculable aid, the vast moral power, that hope 
and confidence and assurance of victory will bring with them to any 
cause — more especially a cause so just and sacred as ours. They have 
achieved moi'e victories than skill and discipline have won ; more than 
liave been Avon by consummate generalship or superiority of numbers. 
Hope and confidence ! they are more than half the battle. "With them 
for our allies there is no Buch word as fail. 

AVhen the fugitive Roman consul carried tire tidings of his own defeat — 
the utter annihilation of his army — and the n-cws of the rapid approach 
of Hannibal to the gates of Home, he was mot by the Senate and pub- 



81 

licly thanked bcciiTsc lie did not despair of llic KopuMie. In that 
hope of tlic defeated consul — that proud confidence of an undaunted 
Senate, lay the present salvation and the future empire of Rome. 

The world has had the lesson for centuries, but the AVorld does not 
seem to have grown the wiser for it. Let It he, at least to us, a lesson 
of profit and instruction. I tell yoil, my fellow countrymen — and I 
would that a voice more poteiit and more authoiitativc than juine, could 
ring' the words in the ears of every citizen in the loyal States — I tell 
you that hope is the very soul of courage and strengtl) ; the anchor sure 
nnd steadfast, the sword and the shield, the invulnerable armor of 
defense, by which defeat is turned into victoi'v, and all things are 
possible. The American citizen, who like the Ronian consul, does not 
despair of the Republic under every discouragement, under every tempo- 
rary defeat or adversity, is but discharging one of the humblest duties of 
a true patriotism. lie that fails in this is recreant to his duty, and deserves 
the reprobation of all good citizens. Away then Avith the croakei'S — - 
the getters-up of panics and unnecessary alarms — the Cassandras of the 
day, with their eternal forebodings of evil — the gi'im prophets of fntni-e 
defeat, disaster and ruin. Away with all of them. They are the 
sti-agglers in the army, who run at the first fire, crying "all is lost," 
breeding panic and spreading confusion even among the disciplined 
soldiery, by the contagion of their own cowardice. Tliey should be met, 
as were the stragglers in the late battle at Richmond, at the bridge, 
toward which they were madly rushing for escape^ — by the bayonets of 
the rear guard, and forced back into the ranks. 

Let us have no more of this. Let us hope. Let our cause be sus- 
tained by an unfaltering trust. Let us cherish, and proclaim abroad, 
a confident assurance of victory. I do not arrogate to myself the spii-ifc 
of prophesy, but I venture to assert that the hope so entertained, Avilf 
be the speedy harbinger of a sure and glorious triumph. 

The clouds are already breaking away — the grey light of the morning 
is streaking the eastern sky, and the sun of our national glory is about 
to rise. Just as sure as yonder orb shall at the dawn of to-morrow open 
again the portals of day, and mount up to his meridian splendor, just 
so sure will the sun of our political system emerge from the clouds that 
now obscure it, and take its place, in increased brightness and glory, in 
the firmament of nations. 

God grant that this may be so, and speedily ; and that the civil war 
which now desolates the land shall soon give place to permanent and' 
fraternal p)cace. 

God grant that the last xVmerican citizen has sufi'ered (as he was the- 



first to siifFei') tlie iu'iioiniiiiou^; dcatli of n felon, for tlic treasoiinLlc act 
of pulliiiu,' down the Aiiicricaii Flag. 

May that Flag, before another sucli anniversary as this shall dawn 
uj)on ns, float onrc more nnchallenged over a Union restored in its full 
integrity, and a people at peace. May it wave over the land and over 
the sea, its folds emblazoned all over in letters of living-light, with that 
noble inscription which our great statesman devised for it, in the words 
I have already repeated : " Lusbrty and Union, now and forever, 

ONE AND INSEPARABLE." 



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